Awesome advice!!!! I am one of those who would love to make a lucrative career with my blog. If there is any other advice you wish to share specifically about my blog, please by all means feel free to check it out. Thank you in advance for the support.

Well okay… I love quirky so I liked the top post and I really like the blog theme you’ve chosen.

There is nothing there that tells me who I’m engaging with and I would not even attempt to read the massively long post which looks like a wall of solid text and I suspect I would not be alone in that. You can do long posts, but if you don’t break them up with images or clear separated paragraphs and /or subtitles they just tire the eyes.

…Unless your ‘Hello’ post…is that about you? It should not be hidden where no one will find it. I don’t know if your theme allows it but your bio should be accessible in a permanent position at the top or in a sidebar, so we know how cool you are right away.

If you want to build your audience then clearly you have to start splitting your time up with being creative and marketing your blog or no one will ‘ride your wave’ with you.

Personally (as opposed to blog coaching advice) I would have liked more of the short burst ‘Random Thoughts’ ‘What If’, ‘Interesting Thoughts’ posts – as long as they continued to be thought provoking.

And from a blog coaching perspective, they are easy to digest, could be fun or deeply profound and their summary form makes it easy for people to dive in, read and leave comments. It could also become a style thing for you.

If you went for something like this you have to make good use of every single line to capture people in such short paragraphs.

Personally again, I didn’t like the re-blogs from an aesthetic POV. They broke the blogs quirky, minimal style.

I see no reason why you couldn’t make a lucrative career blogging. Just put the grind in if you aren’t already. Hope anything I have said helps.

Your tactic is working just fine. Even though I’m guilty when it comes to ignoring my (few) visitors, I came to yours. So it is always good to ‘feel guilty’ and go back to someone else’s online space.
Probably many bloggers say they’re too busy with their day-t-day lives, I know I am 😉
Soon enough I’ll be able to free up some time to invest in this wonderful thing called writing. That also means I can put some of your tips to good use 🙂 Thank you for that.

Good advice, EJ! Trust you to think outside the reply box… 🙂 I had never thought of trying to be first, since many of the folks I follow are not “busy bees” like yourself, though the sense of community is very much there. I have unfollowed so-called “power bloggers” for the lack of said community. They can be as “big” as they want, but if there is no sense of cummunity, what is the point? However, I am growing slowly but surely… well enough to have attracted my first troll the other day – hahaha! I am told this is a rite of passage and that it means I have “arrived.” Not sure where I’ve arrived, but I’m sure glad it’s over… haha! With a blog as noncontroversial and G-rated as mine, I am amazed anyone would bother! May your life be troll free, and there be many quarters in your Like jar! xx Mother Hen

Oh man! Where’s the bowing ‘I’m not worthy’ smiley! Or the champagne popping one, for indeed you have arrived M’Lady! *Applause!*

Yeah some folk plod along at a sorta countryside pace posting every now and then. They are perfectly fine but to put some fire in your rockets you need the power blogger, especially at your stage. I was over there the other day, you’re doing plenty fine. But of course you have seen that some PB’s become too busy to address their community after a while or perhaps never really did.

But me, I Iove the interaction. It just feels rude to ignore people, but then I’m a workaholic, (I laugh in the face of sleep as you know!) and replying everyone is surprisingly still manageable…so far.

I’m thinking of ways to put some fire in folks rockets via this blog…have been doing so for some time, but I’m not happy with what I’ve come up with…still thinking. But yeah, finding one or two PB’s who are community minded (aside from and/or including me) doesn’t have to happen this week. It might take time to find some good people and if the stars all align for you, i.e perfect timing, a matching post or project, a referral, a guest post or a link, it could be amazing.

*bows awkwardly, clutching her bouquet of roses, runs off stage only to return and take another bow, but falls into the orchestra pit and is impaled on a bassoon… very nasty injury, actually.*

Yeah, I think you are right about needing the PB at this stage… maybe the ones I was following just either did not particularly interest me (content wise) or they were posting so often, my reader was getting crowded. In any case, it is all a little trial and error in the first year. But at present, things are ticking over nicely… Still giving thought to ways to monetize in future and also considering the self-pub route, but for now, I’m just working at building my audience up and trying to produce good content. Responding to all comments is obviously a priority – it stinks to feel like it is all take and no give, and I don’t want to be that sort of blogger. On the other hand, I only follow what I truly like, and surely don’t expect everyone I follow to reciprocate. Following for any other reason seems disrespectful somehow. 🙂 Thanks as always for your great advice, EJ! I always look forward to your posts…

I actually guffawed at your accident! Lol! Shows how good you are at painting a picture with words.

I’m writing a whole shebang on monetizing, might even coincide with when you are ready for it and you are fairly spot on, most likely you will have to self pub. Lady, you have your head screwed on just right. You’re prioritizing the right things at the right time and growing at a steady pace, YOUR pace.

I’ve just read the top bit again and laughed like I hadn’t already read it before. *Makes note* Get a life Ej!

Motherhen…. You are awesomely funny!!! The description I see in these comments leads me to believe you are the female Hemingway!!!! I will be checking out more of your writing!! Thank you for allowing me to find you in this thread.

Hahaha! Please, come on over! I look forward to meeting you… but first – I must know if you mean Ernest Hemingway or Mariel? ‘Cause there’s kind of a big difference. Although, I probably do resemble Mariel more, being a girl and all… 😀 In any case, I shall try not to disappoint, but probablay will… xx Mother Hen xx

It is indeed… and an endless source of comedy, actually! 🙂 🙂 I’m always happy to throw myself under the bus if it makes someone else grin… keeps us young, I say! I thank you for the wholly undeserved comparison… and welcome aboard! :-! MH

I’m going to set some time aside and read your series. Extremely glad I’ve found you – although, I think you found me! Are you able to point me in the direction of one or two of your favourite blogs? I like news-related, business, review or just interesting topics! Thank you!

Hi Anna. You’ve stumped me. The blogs I enjoy at the moment are by wordpressers and I go by who they are as much as the topics. That’s who is currently in my must-visit list. So look down any comments and see who you might warm to. I also like business blogs and non garbage-y news blogs but can’t think of any at the moment. I have lots of compiled lists SOMEwhere but haven’t visited them for a while.

Mm – that’s one of my pet peeves about WordPress: posts don’t always show up in my reader when they go live, but sometimes days later. I go scrolling down past posts I’ve already read, and suddenly there’s something I’ve never seen before. I have no idea what causes it. Cross-platform delays?

Really? Didn’t know that as I don’t use it. But surely you get notification emails in time or not?

Yes it could be cross platform shenanigans.
In any case, you have a certain style and quirky interests, find someone(s) similar – it need only be one or two with nice busy blogs. If it’s only one or two then it’s easier for you to MANUALLY get to know their posting habits. The idea is to develop friendships in (and also out) of your niche so they might tell their multiple readers about you (and vice versa) if you write something they find they absolutely must share.

Thanks. This is surely good advice. I feel a bit like I’ve been blogging in a vacuum though I do get an occasional comment, like or email. I would love more because I believe I’m writing about a topic that affects many people (adult ADHD). I’d love to hear how others who struggle with the seemingly unnecessary foibles associated with this so-called disorder are handling it. Thanks for your input. Glad I’d subscribed to your blog. Best.